American Alpine Project
Ascending America's Highest Peaks to Raise Spirits Around the Globe
Brasstown Bald, Georgia
Brasstown Bald, GA
Elevation: 4,784 ft.
Summit Attained: 9:30 a.m., 2/17/07
Several hours after leaving the summit of Sassafras Mountain, we arrived in the little town of Clayton, Georgia. There were no obvious places to set up camp, so we checked into the local Days Inn. Big Mistake! The people at the desk were nice enough, but the room was disgusting. There was blood and mold in the bathtub and the sheets on both beds had clearly been used many times. Needless to say, we didn't really sleep all that much. This ended up working out well, since we got a very early start in order to get out of the place.
Winding through the back roads of northwestern Georgia was a fascinating experience. We passed some really classic old southern farms, little roadside shops, crumbling shacks and a lot of vintage cars. Even the gas station had a certain rural charm. There were great views of the surrounding mountains near the turn onto Spur 180, the mountain road that leads up to the Brasstown Bald visitors center. Wild Rhododendron bushes covered the mountainside, and snow lined the sides of the road as we approached the parking lot. Not surprisingly, there was no one around when we got there, so we parked and ate a quick breakfast of peanuts, fig newtons and kudos bars as we checked out the views of early-morning Appalachia.
After donning our hiking boots and strapping our crampons to our packs just in case, we were disappointed to discover that the trail from the parking lot to the summit was paved. It was quite steep, however, gaining about 500 feet of elevation in less than half a mile. About halfway up, Jason and I heard a brown bear foraging around nearby, so we booked it to the top as fast as we could, waving our arms and making a lot of noise to try to alert the animal to our presence.
At the top of the trail was a sign that marked the elevation and described the origin of the mountain's strange name (see photo.) The visitor's center was closed, along with the observation tower, but the deck around the tower was open, so we climbed up and took in the astounding 360 panorama. It was a clear morning, and the sunlit mountains seemed to stretch for a hundred miles as we looked north toward the Carolinas and west toward Tennessee. To the south were smaller mountains interlaced with lots of little farms that just managed to nestle their way in between the peaks.
It was close to 0 degrees with the windchill, but we barely noticed for quite some time. Eventually our faces began to go numb, so we left the summit and descended the trail as fast as we could, singing loudly in case the bear was still around. Back at the car, we tried to get the stove going, but the wind foiled our plans, so we said goodbye to Brasstown and began the long journey that would eventually end at Black Mountain, Kentucky.
Elevation: 4,784 ft.
Summit Attained: 9:30 a.m., 2/17/07
Several hours after leaving the summit of Sassafras Mountain, we arrived in the little town of Clayton, Georgia. There were no obvious places to set up camp, so we checked into the local Days Inn. Big Mistake! The people at the desk were nice enough, but the room was disgusting. There was blood and mold in the bathtub and the sheets on both beds had clearly been used many times. Needless to say, we didn't really sleep all that much. This ended up working out well, since we got a very early start in order to get out of the place.
Winding through the back roads of northwestern Georgia was a fascinating experience. We passed some really classic old southern farms, little roadside shops, crumbling shacks and a lot of vintage cars. Even the gas station had a certain rural charm. There were great views of the surrounding mountains near the turn onto Spur 180, the mountain road that leads up to the Brasstown Bald visitors center. Wild Rhododendron bushes covered the mountainside, and snow lined the sides of the road as we approached the parking lot. Not surprisingly, there was no one around when we got there, so we parked and ate a quick breakfast of peanuts, fig newtons and kudos bars as we checked out the views of early-morning Appalachia.
After donning our hiking boots and strapping our crampons to our packs just in case, we were disappointed to discover that the trail from the parking lot to the summit was paved. It was quite steep, however, gaining about 500 feet of elevation in less than half a mile. About halfway up, Jason and I heard a brown bear foraging around nearby, so we booked it to the top as fast as we could, waving our arms and making a lot of noise to try to alert the animal to our presence.
At the top of the trail was a sign that marked the elevation and described the origin of the mountain's strange name (see photo.) The visitor's center was closed, along with the observation tower, but the deck around the tower was open, so we climbed up and took in the astounding 360 panorama. It was a clear morning, and the sunlit mountains seemed to stretch for a hundred miles as we looked north toward the Carolinas and west toward Tennessee. To the south were smaller mountains interlaced with lots of little farms that just managed to nestle their way in between the peaks.
It was close to 0 degrees with the windchill, but we barely noticed for quite some time. Eventually our faces began to go numb, so we left the summit and descended the trail as fast as we could, singing loudly in case the bear was still around. Back at the car, we tried to get the stove going, but the wind foiled our plans, so we said goodbye to Brasstown and began the long journey that would eventually end at Black Mountain, Kentucky.
